Haryana govt to ensure 'safai karmis' in villages

Chandigarh, Mar 9 (UNI) The Haryana Government will provide yearly budgetary support of Rs 45.50 crore under the 'Scheme for Financial Assistance to Gram Panchayats for Improved Sanitation' for deployment of 'Safai Karmis' in the villages.

An estimated 11,000 'Safai Karamis' were being deployed in the villages of the state on the basis of their population.

Giving details of the scheme, a spokesman said here today that this scheme would go a long way in improving the sanitation conditions in villages and the total sanitation campaign was also being implemented in the State with a revised outlay of Rs 175.39 crore, including Rs 40.25 crore as state share.

He said that the State Government had decided to launch another scheme, 'Mukhya Mantri Anusuchit Jati Gaon Utthan aur Malin Basti Vikas Yojna' under which a sum of Rs 50 lakh had been earmarked for each village to provide basic amenities in villages with more than 50 per cent Scheduled Castes(SC) population. As many as 185 such villages would be taken up with an outlay of Rs 92.95 crore during the year 2008-09.

The spokesman said that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) which was started in the districts of Mohindergarh and Sirsa, had now been extended to Ambala and Mewat districts. He said that all the remaining districts would be covered under this scheme from the next financial year.

The spokesman disclosed that the development works taken up by the Gram Panchayats and other implementing agencies under NREGS included water conservation, water harvesting, drought proofing, afforestation, tree plantation, canal irrigation, irrigation facilities on land owned by the SCs and other rural poor, renovation of traditional water bodies, land development, flood control and protection works and rural connectivity.

By the end of December 2007, funds amounting to over Rs 30 crore had been spent, thereby generating 23.14 lakh mandays and during this period, 2014 developmental works had been identified and 1222 such works were still in progress, he added.

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